When Donald Trump returned to the White House vowing to gut federal bureaucracy, the Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE — was supposed to be the spear tip.
For months, it dominated political conversation, powered by Elon Musk’s celebrity and the administration’s promise to rip out “waste” at historic speed. But behind the spectacle and the chainsaw theatrics that Musk exhibited to mark the beginning of what would be the biggest cut-cutting measure in U.S. history, something else was brewing: disorder, stalled projects, and a mounting bill. Now, less than a year after it launched, DOGE has quietly vanished.
Reuters reported that the agency has been disbanded eight months ahead of schedule. The announcement arrived not through a formal White House declaration but through an unexpectedly candid remark from Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor. When asked about DOGE’s current status, he replied, “That doesn’t exist,” adding, “There is no target around reductions.”
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Trump’s second-term opening act was defined by DOGE’s aggressive drive to cut the federal workforce and halt spending. Musk, appointed as a special government employee, was placed at the helm with sweeping authority over staffing and budget reviews. The rollout was loud — from his chainsaw appearance at CPAC to fiery rhetoric about overhauling Washington — but the results were messy.
One of the most striking reversals came in September, when tens of thousands of federal workers fired under DOGE were asked to return. For many, the mass dismissal had effectively functioned as a months-long paid vacation, given the complexities of federal severance rules and unresolved disputes over the legality of the firings. Meanwhile, federal agencies scrambling to restart frozen contracts reported that the government had incurred millions of dollars in interest and penalty fees from stalled projects.
Inside DOGE itself, eyebrow-raising staffing decisions triggered questions about competence and oversight. Some employees with minimal experience — including the widely publicized 19-year-old staffer Edward “Big Balls” Coristine — were earning six-figure salaries to perform functions that seasoned civil servants typically handle.
The financial ledger contradicted the agency’s mission. According to The Wall Street Journal, federal spending rose by about $220 billion this fiscal year — excluding interest — during Musk’s stewardship. A July report from minority staff on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations estimated that DOGE had generated roughly $21.7 billion in waste in just six months.
Musk exited the agency early. His status as a special government employee expired in late May, four months after DOGE’s creation. Not long after, tensions with Trump broke into public view. The administration’s Big Beautiful Bill exposed deeper policy disagreements, which escalated into personal clashes. Musk had publicly denounced the bill, warning that it would significantly increase U.S. debt – undermining the very essence of DOGE.
That didn’t go down well with Trump.
The president threatened Musk’s government contracts; Musk responded by claiming Trump’s name appeared in the so-called “Epstein files.” What had begun as a strategic partnership dissolved into a feud.
Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles are now reportedly working to repair the damaged relationship between Trump and the billionaire — a notable priority given Musk’s influence and his companies’ federal footprints.
Even as the agency dissolves, many of its prominent staffers are being shuffled into other parts of the government. DOGE Administrator Amy Gleason has become an adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy. Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia now leads Trump’s newly created National Design Studio, tasked with “beautifying” government websites. Coristine, the teen DOGE staffer who became a symbol of the agency’s chaotic hiring, has taken a job at the Social Security Administration after resigning in the summer.
The White House insists the overall effort continues. In a statement to Reuters, spokeswoman Liz Huston said: “President Trump was given a clear mandate to reduce waste, fraud and abuse across the federal government, and he continues to actively deliver on that commitment.”
DOGE may have disappeared from the federal landscape — replaced quietly, without ceremony — but the fallout remains. What began as a bold government-shrinking experiment ended as a lesson in how quickly disruption can turn into disorder, leaving agencies scrambling, workers confused, and taxpayers holding a larger bill than before.